COE prices rise across the board; Cat B and E cross $116,000
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The latest Category B COE premium is 3.4 per cent above the $113,000 set at the previous tender.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – The price of a Category B certificate of entitlement (COE) climbed to $116,890 at the latest tender exercise on March 19, as COE prices rose across the board.
The latest Category B COE premium is 3.4 per cent above the $113,000 set at the previous tender. This type of COE is needed to register larger and more powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs).
The premium for a Category A COE – meant for smaller and less powerful cars and EVs – climbed 1.9 per cent to $94,502, from $92,730. This was the highest price set for this category of COEs so far in 2025.
For Open (Category E) COEs, the premium was $116,991, 3.6 per cent higher than the $112,901 set two weeks ago.
Open category COEs can be used to register any vehicle type other than motorcycles, but are almost always used for bigger and more powerful cars.
A COE is required to register a vehicle for use in Singapore. Given that the COE is usually included in new vehicle prices, the latest results mean that car prices will likely rise following the latest tender results.
At $70,089, the commercial vehicle (Category C) COE premium was 4.6 per cent higher than the previous price of $67,001.
The motorcycle (Category D) COE price of $9,511 was 3.4 per cent above the $9,201 recorded previously.
Motor dealers like Mr Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors, attributed the higher COE prices to the three-week gap – instead of the usual two – before the next tender exercise. “This gives dealers time to collect more orders; thus bidders (in this round) are worried that the next bids’ results will be even higher,” he said.
Automotive industry consultant Vincent Ng noted that some brands held roadshows in shopping malls offering discounts over the past two weeks, which would have garnered some sales orders and pushed up demand for COEs.
These include Chinese brands Xpeng and Zeekr, Japanese brand Subaru, and European makes like Volkswagen and Skoda.
Ms Corinne Chua, managing director of Volvo Cars at multi-brand distributor Wearnes Automotive, said that there have been more customers returning to the showrooms in March – “especially those waiting for the 20,000 COEs”.
She was referring to the phased injection of additional COEs
This was said to have prompted some buyers to wait out in the earlier tender exercises to gauge the impact of the measure on COE premiums.
As with other motor dealers The Straits Times spoke to, Ms Chua expects car sales to slow down after the latest COE tender results. This is because the elevated premiums will translate into higher car prices.
On the evening of March 19, BMW, for example, raised the price of its Category A COE cars by $2,000 and Category B COE cars by $4,000.
Correction note: An earlier version of this story said Category B COE prices were at its highest since December 2023. This is incorrect, and the story has been amended. We are sorry for the error.
